My Twin
by Scytherageroses
Summary: A short and sweet fic about Kenshin Uesugi lamenting over the death of his beloved rival, Shingen Takeda


A tiger, when it roars, it burns through the earth, sending its flames throughout Mother Gaia, and to its intended target by means to instill fear.

A dragon, when it roars, it burns through the earth, sending its flames throughout Mother Gaia, and to its intended target by means to instill fear.

Shingen Takeda.

Kenshin Uesugi.

The Tiger of Kai.

The Dragon of Echigo.

The two have been rivals for what felt like an eternity. The multiple fights at Kawanakajima only the tip of the iceberg for the two of them. Where there was war, there was a fight, where there was a fight, there was passion, admiration, exhilaration, neither man could fight it, they needed each other.

"My only one..."

"My only rival..."

Kenshin sat alone in his bedroom, he had sent his page, Kanetsugu Naoe away so he could sit in silence, looking down at a map of Kawanakajima, where he shared his most passionate moments in the heat of battle with the Tiger himself.

He once even ran headfirst into Shingen's main camp, aiming for his head, when he was stopped by Shingen's war fan.

"You do the craziest things to me...I run headfirst into war, run to the field, and I look for you..."

Arousal, of the strangest kind. It wasn't sexual, but it was enough to bring him to his knees. The feeling of war. He called himself the God of War incarnate, and so the battlefield was his home. But home was only where Shingen was, on the field with him, in his war-torn arms.

And yet, now it was gone.

After the battle of Okehazama, Nobunaga Oda, The Fool of Owari was making a name for himself in Japan. His influence spread so much, the Tiger and Dragon put their differences aside to challenge him. Kenshin at Tedorigawa, and Shingen against Nobunaga's childhood friend and ally, Ieyasu Tokugawa at Mikatagahara.

Once both battles were done, their respective opponents out of the picture, the Dragon and the Tiger looked upon each other once more.

But it was not meant to be.

It was late at night when Kenshin received the news.

Shingen took a rest stop in Mikawa. It was snowing, a blizzard, even, the Takeda army could not move. At the main camp, however, it was where the Tiger breathed his last.

Some say it was sickness. Others say an old wound.

To Kenshin Uesugi, the Dragon, he cared not. Only that his rival, his twin, his soulmate, was gone.

A tear fell from his eye. He was eating dinner with his men, when the news broke. "Nemesis..." he quietly said, "I have truly lost an excellent match before my time. There are no others in the world who can return him, be they man or child..."

"Lord Kenshin?" Kanetsugu asked, watching as Kenshin fell to the floor, a dam of tears falling from his eyes, embracing himself, letting himself cry freely over the loss of his rival.

His twin.

His soulmate.

The Dragon couldn't stop his tears. He couldn't, even if he wanted to. The pain was too much to bear. The tears staining and swirling around the flamed dragon, extinguishing the flames reserved only for his beloved Tiger.

But would never en-flame again. No longer would those delicate flames stand ablaze, no longer would the flames dance in Kenshin's cold eyes. No longer would he enjoy a battle with his soulmate.

"My only one.."

"Nemesis..."

And so Kenshin chose to be alone tonight. A candle flicking the only light in the otherwise dark room. Much like his heart, the flames had died out long ago, only to leave a bitter freeze. His nemesis, his partner in war, his everything, was dead.

He could fight off the worst of his enemies, but he could not escape the hands of fate.

Such a cruel fate it was. "I was supposed to take your life...not mother time...such a worthless whore..."

More tears would fall from the dark eyes of Lord Kenshin. Tonight, he put his sake down, tonight, he lay his soul down. He ripped up a map of Kawanakajima-that battle didn't matter anymore.

Nothing did.

Never again would Kenshin Uesugi run out to battle, his flame was gone, flying up to the heavens where Bishamonten gazed down at him with distress, with sorrow, with pain. He was cold, he was shivering, still crying, still embracing the lost warmth around him.

"Nemesis..." 


End file.
